Many PR agencies in the USA feel like they are "pushing on a piece of string." Its harder to pitch stories these days because U.S.
media companies have cut 70,000 jobs since June 2000. But, something more fundamental is also at work. The irresistible force of search engine optimization (SEO) has hit the immovable object of public relations (PR).
The result is both a threat and an opportunity.
The threat is clear. As Sancho Panza observed, "Whether the rock hits the pitcher or the pitcher hits the rock, its bound to be bad for the pitcher." In other words, old assumptions will shatter when they hit or are bit by new realities.
PR has been around for almost 100 years. While many believe that Edward Bernays invented the public relations profession in the 1920s, others point to Ivy Lee, who opened a "counseling office" in 1904.
